Virtual machine deployment system using configurable communication couplings

ABSTRACT

A virtual machine deployment system includes a plurality of processing subsystems, and at least one multi-endpoint adapter device including a plurality of endpoint subsystems. A plurality of communication couplings couple each of the plurality of endpoint subsystems to at least one of the plurality of processing subsystems in order to provide a respective subset of available communication resources to each of the plurality of processing subsystems. A virtual machine deployment engine receives an instruction to deploy a virtual machine, and determines at least one communication resource requirement for the virtual machine. The virtual machine deployment engine then identifies a first processing subsystem that is included in the plurality of processing subsystems and that is provided a first subset of the available communication resources that satisfies the at least one communication resource requirement for the virtual machine, and deploys the virtual machine on the first processing subsystem.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates generally to information handlingsystems, and more particularly to deploying virtual machines provided byinformation handling systems.

As the value and use of information continues to increase, individualsand businesses seek additional ways to process and store information.One option available to users is information handling systems. Aninformation handling system generally processes, compiles, stores,and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or otherpurposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of theinformation. Because technology and information handling needs andrequirements vary between different users or applications, informationhandling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled,how the information is handled, how much information is processed,stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the informationmay be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in informationhandling systems allow for information handling systems to be general orconfigured for a specific user or specific use such as financialtransaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage,or global communications. In addition, information handling systems mayinclude a variety of hardware and software components that may beconfigured to process, store, and communicate information and mayinclude one or more computer systems, data storage systems, andnetworking systems.

Information handling systems such as for example, server devices, aresometimes utilized to provide virtual machines, which one of skill inthe art will recognize are emulations of computer systems that are basedon computer architectures, and that provides the functionality ofphysical computer systems. For example, virtual machines may provide thefunctionality needed to execute entire operating systems, with ahypervisor in the server device utilizing native execution to share andmanage hardware in the server device, allowing for the provisioning ofmultiple environments which are isolated from each other while alsobeing provided on the same server device. Virtual machines may bedeployed on server devices when they are needed, and then removed fromthe server devices when they are no longer needed, which can result in adynamic server device environment in which virtual machines are deployedand removed regularly while utilizing different resources in that serverdevice over time. As more virtual machines and/or virtual machines withresource intensive requirements are provided for deployment on serverdevices, the deployment of those virtual machines can raise issues withregard to ensuring that each virtual machine that is deployed has accessto sufficient resources in the server device in order to satisfy ServiceLevel Agreements (SLAB) and/or other virtual machine performancerequirements. This can be particularly true for server devices withparticular configurations.

For example, some server devices include multiple processors and utilizea Non-Uniform Memory Access (NUMA) computer memory design in which eachprocessor is provided a local memory that it can access quickly, withthose processors coupled together via processor interconnects (e.g.,Ultra-Path Interconnects (UPIs) available in processing systems providedby INTEL® Corporation of Santa Clara, Calif., United States) that allowthe processors to access memory that is local to the other processors.Furthermore, such server devices may be provided with multi-endpointadapter devices that provide a plurality of endpoints (e.g., PCIeendpoints), and in a specific example the endpoints may include NetworkInterface Controllers (NICs). Conventionally, the processors are coupledto the multi-endpoint adapter devices with fixed communication couplingswhich, using the specific example provided above, allows at least someof the processors to communicate with the NICs to utilize communicationresources available in the server device.

In such server devices, virtual machines may be deployed on the serverdevice by copying virtual machine code for that virtual machine to thelocal memory provided for a particular processor, and then having thatprocessor execute that virtual machine code in order to provide thatvirtual machine. However, if that virtual machine requires a relativelyhigh communication bandwidth (e.g., according to an SLA), and the fixedcommunication coupling between that processor and a NIC provides acommunication resource that is not capable of that relatively highcommunication bandwidth, the virtual machine will fail to satisfy itsvirtual machine performance requirements. Furthermore, if a plurality ofvirtual machines are provided by the processors in a server devicesimilarly as discussed above, available communication resources in theserver device may be insufficient to deploy a relativelyresource-intensive virtual machine on that server device, even if one ormore of the plurality of virtual machines currently deployed on theserver device do not needed the communication resources that arecurrently allocated to the processors that are providing them.

Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an improved virtualmachine deployment system.

SUMMARY

According to one embodiment, an Information Handling System (IHS)includes a virtual machine deployment processing system; and a virtualmachine deployment memory system that is coupled to the virtual machinedeployment processing system and that includes instructions that, whenexecuted by the virtual machine deployment processing system, cause thevirtual machine deployment processing system to provide a virtualmachine deployment engine that is configured to: receive a firstinstruction to deploy a first virtual machine: determine at least onefirst communication resource requirement for the first virtual machine;identify a first processing subsystem that is included in a plurality ofprocessing subsystems and that is provided a first subset of availablecommunication resources via a plurality of communication couplings thatcouple the first processing subsystem to a first endpoint subsystemprovided on a multi-endpoint adapter device; wherein the first subset ofavailable communication resources satisfy the at least one firstcommunication resource requirement for the first virtual machine; anddeploy the first virtual machine on the first processing subsystem.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of an InformationHandling System (IHS).

FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a networkedsystem including a plurality of server devices coupled to a managementsystem via a network.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a server devicethat may be included in the networked system of FIG. 2, and that mayprovide the virtual machine deployment system of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of a method fordeploying virtual machines.

FIG. 5A is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of acommunication resource configuration in the virtual machine deploymentsystem provided by the server device of FIG. 2 and during the method ofFIG. 4.

FIG. 5B is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of acommunication resource configuration in the virtual machine deploymentsystem provided by the server device of FIG. 2 and during the method ofFIG. 4,

FIG. 5C is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a virtualmachine deployed in the virtual machine deployment system provided bythe server device of FIG. 2 and during the method of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6A is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of acommunication resource configuration in the virtual machine deploymentsystem provided by the server device of FIG. 2 and during the method ofFIG. 4.

FIG. 6B is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of acommunication resource configuration in the virtual machine deploymentsystem provided by the server device of FIG. 2 and during the method ofFIG. 4.

FIG. 6C is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of acommunication resource configuration in the virtual machine deploymentsystem provided by the server device of FIG. 2 and during the method ofFIG. 4.

FIG. 6D is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of acommunication resource configuration in the virtual machine deploymentsystem provided by the server device of FIG. 2 and during the method ofFIG. 4.

FIG. 6E is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of virtualmachines deployed in the virtual machine deployment system provided bythe server device of FIG. 2 and during the method of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6F is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of acommunication resource reconfiguration in the virtual machine deploymentsystem provided by the server device of FIG. 2 and during the method ofFIG. 4.

FIG. 6G is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a new virtualmachine deployed in the virtual machine deployment system provided bythe server device of FIG. 2 and during the method of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6H is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of the removal ofa virtual machine and the moving of a virtual machine in the virtualmachine deployment system provided by the server device of FIG. 2 andduring the method of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For purposes of this disclosure, an information handling system mayinclude any instrumentality or aggregate of instrumentalities operableto compute, calculate, determine, classify, process, transmit, receive,retrieve, originate, switch, store, display, communicate, manifest,detect, record, reproduce, handle, or utilize any form of information,intelligence, or data for business, scientific, control, or otherpurposes. For example, an information handling system may be a personalcomputer (e.g., desktop or laptop), tablet computer, mobile device(e.g., personal digital assistant (PDA) or smart phone), server (e.g.,blade server or rack server), a network storage device, or any othersuitable device and may vary in size, shape, performance, functionality,and price. The information handling system may include random accessmemory (RAM), one or more processing resources such as a centralprocessing unit (CPU) or hardware or software control logic, ROM, and/orother types of nonvolatile memory. Additional components of theinformation handling system may include one or more disk drives, one ormore network ports for communicating with external devices as well asvarious input and output (I/O) devices, such as a keyboard, a mouse,touchscreen and/or a video display. The information handling system mayalso include one or more buses operable to transmit communicationsbetween the various hardware components.

In one embodiment, IHS 100, FIG. 1, includes a processor 102, which isconnected to a bus 104. Bus 104 serves as a connection between processor102 and other components of IHS 100. An input device 106 is coupled toprocessor 102 to provide input to processor 102. Examples of inputdevices may include keyboards, touchscreens, pointing devices such asmouses, trackballs, and trackpads, and/or a variety of other inputdevices known in the art. Programs and data are stored on a mass storagedevice 108, which is coupled to processor 102. Examples of mass storagedevices may include hard discs, optical disks, magneto-optical discs,solid-state storage devices, and/or a variety other mass storage devicesknown in the art. IHS 100 further includes a display 110, which iscoupled to processor 102 by a video controller 112. A system memory 114is coupled to processor 102 to provide the processor with fast storageto facilitate execution of computer programs by processor 102. Examplesof system memory may include random access memory (RAM) devices such asdynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), solid state memorydevices, and/or a variety of other memory devices known in the art. Inan embodiment, a chassis 116 houses some or all of the components of IHS100. It should be understood that other buses and intermediate circuitscan be deployed between the components described above and processor 102to facilitate interconnection between the components and the processor102.

Referring now to FIG. 2, an embodiment of a networked system 200 isillustrated. In the illustrated embodiment, the networked system 200includes a plurality of server devices 202 a, 202 b, and up to 202 c. Inan embodiment, any or all of the server devices 202 a-202 c may beprovided by the IHS 100 discussed above with reference to FIG. 1, and/ormay include some or all of the components of the IHS 100. However, whileillustrated and discussed as server devices; one of skill in the art inpossession of the present disclosure will recognize that the virtualmachine deployment system of the present disclosure may be provided inany device that may be configured to operate similarly as discussedbelow. The server devices 202 a-c are coupled to a network 204 that maybe provided by a Local Area Network (LAN), the Internet, and/or othernetworks known in the art. A management system 206 is also coupledthrough the network 204 to the server devices 202 a-c. The managementsystem 206 may be provided by the IHS 100 discussed above with referenceto FIG. 1, and/or may include some or all of the components of the IHS100. In specific examples, the management device system 206 may beprovided by server devices, desktop computing devices, laptop/notebookcomputing devices, tablet computing devices, mobile phones, and/or anyother device that may provide the management system functionalitydiscussed below. While a few particular devices are illustrated, one ofskill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will recognizethat many more devices may (and typically will) be provided in thenetworked system 200 (e.g., in a datacenter) while remaining within thescope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, while a specific networkedsystem 200 has been illustrated and described, one of skill in the artin possession of the present disclosure will recognize that the virtualmachine deployment system of the present disclosure may include avariety of components and component configurations while remainingwithin the scope of the present disclosure as well.

Referring now to FIG. 3, an embodiment of a server device 300 isillustrated that may provide any of the server devices 202 a-c discussedabove with reference to FIG. 2. As such, the server device 300 may beprovided by the IHS 100 discussed above with reference to FIG. 1 and/ormay include some or all of the components of the IHS 100. Furthermore,while illustrated and discussed as a server device 300, one of skill inthe art in possession of the present disclosure will recognize that thefunctionality of the server device 300 discussed below may be providedby other devices that are configured to operate similarly as discussedbelow. In the illustrated embodiment, the server device 300 includes achassis 302 that houses the components of the server device 300, onlysome of which are illustrated below. For example, the chassis 302 mayhouse a virtual machine deployment processing system (not illustrated,but which may include the processor 102 discussed above with referenceto FIG. 1) and a virtual machine deployment memory system (notillustrated, but which may include the memory 114 discussed above withreference to FIG. 1) that is coupled to the virtual machine deploymentprocessing system and that includes instructions that, when executed bythe virtual machine deployment processing system, cause the virtualmachine deployment processing system to provide a virtual machinedeployment engine (e.g., virtual machine orchestration software and/orother virtualization software such as VSPHERE® available from VIMWARE®of Palo Alto, Calif., United States) that is configured to perform thefunctionality of the virtual machine deployment engines and/or virtualmachine deployment subsystems discussed below.

In a specific example, the virtual machine deployment engine discussedbelow may be provided via an agent included in a hypervisor in theserver device 300. However, in other examples, the virtual machinedeployment engine discussed below may be provided via a system connectedto the server device 300 (e.g., the management system 206 discussedabove with reference to FIG. 2.) While a few examples of theprovisioning of the virtual machine deployment engine have beendescribed, one of skill in the art in possession of the presentdisclosure will recognize that the virtual machine deploymentfunctionality discussed below may be enabled in a variety of manners andby a variety of devices or systems while remaining within the scope ofthe present disclosure as well.

The chassis 302 may also house a board 304 such as, for example, amotherboard and/or other circuit board that would be apparent to one ofskill in the art in possession of the present disclosure. In theillustrated embodiment, a plurality of processing subsystems areprovided on the board 304, including a processing subsystem 306 a, aprocessing subsystem 308 a, a processing subsystem 310 a, and aprocessing subsystem 312 a, with the processing subsystems coupledtogether via processing subsystem interconnects such as an Ultra-PathInterconnect (UPI). For example, in the illustrated embodiment, theprocessing subsystems 306 a and 308 a are coupled together via a UPI 313a, the processing subsystems 308 a and 310 a are coupled together via aUPI 313 b, and the processing subsystems 310 a and 312 a are coupledtogether via a UPI 313 c, Furthermore, each of the processing subsystems306 a, 308 a, 310 a, and 312 a are provided with and connected torespective memory subsystems 306 b, 308 b, 310 b, and 312 b. Forexample, the processing subsystems and memory subsystems in the serverdevice 300 may utilize a Non-Uniform Memory Access (NUMA) computermemory design in which each respective processing subsystem is connecteda respective local memory subsystem to provide a respective NUMA node(i.e., the processing subsystem 306 a and its local memory subsystem 306b provide a first NUMA node, the processing subsystem 308 a and itslocal memory subsystem 308 b provide a second NUMA node, and so on.)However, while four processing subsystems/memory subsystems (e.g., fourNUMA nodes) are illustrated in FIG. 3, one of skill in the art inpossession of the present disclosure will recognize that more or fewerprocessing subsystems/memory subsystems (e.g., NUMA nodes) may beprovided according to the teachings of the present disclosure willfalling within its scope as well.

In the illustrated embodiment, each of the processing subsystems 306 a,308 a, 310 a, and 312 a are coupled to a control/bridge subsystem 314that may be provided on the board 304. While illustrated and describedas a control/bridge subsystem, one of skill in the art in possession ofthe present disclosure will recognize that other subsystems may performthe functionality of the control/bridge subsystem 314 discussed belowwhile remaining within the scope of the present disclosure as well. Inthe illustrated embodiment, the control/bridge subsystem 314 may beprovided by hardware on the board 304 that is coupled to a riser device316 that is included on the board 304. However, in other embodiments,the control/bridge subsystem 314 may be provided as part of the riserdevice 316 while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure aswell In some examples, as discussed in further detail below, thecoupling between the control/bridge subsystem 314 and the riser device316 may be configurable (as indicated by the dashed line provided forthat coupling in FIG. 3.) In the illustrated embodiment, the riserdevice 316 may include two ×16 connectors (e.g., PCIe connectors) thatprovide the eight ×4 connectors illustrated in FIG. 3 (e.g., numbered“1”, “2”, “3”, and “4” for the first ×16 connector, and “5”, “6”, “7”,and “8” for the second ×16 connector).

In the illustrated embodiment, a pair of multi-endpoint adapter devices317 and 318 are coupled to the riser device 316 (e.g., via the two ×16connectors provided on the riser device 316 as discussed above), andincludes a plurality of endpoint subsystems that are coupled to theriser device 316. For example, and as discussed in further detail below,the coupling between the endpoint subsystems provided on themulti-endpoint adapter devices 317 and 318 and the riser device 316 maybe configurable (as indicated by the dashed line provided for thosecouplings in FIG. 3.) In a specific example, the endpoint subsystemsprovided on the multi-endpoint adapter devices 317 and 318 may beprovided by physical or virtual Peripheral Component Interconnectexpress (PCIe) endpoints such as, for example, the Network InterfaceControllers (NICs) 317 a and 318 a on the multi-endpoint adapter devices317 and 318, respectively, illustrated in FIG. 3. As discussed infurther detail below, the couplings between the control/bridge subsystem314, the riser device 316, and the software defined NICs 317 a and 318 aprovide a plurality of communication couplings that may couple each ofthe plurality of endpoint subsystems (e.g., each of the NICs 317 a and318 a) to at least one of the plurality of processing subsystems 306 a,308 a, 310 a, and 312 a in order to provide a respective subset ofavailable communication resources in the server device 300 to each ofthe plurality of processing subsystems 306 a, 308 a, 310 a, and 312 a.

In a specific example, each of the NICs 317 a and 318 a provide a“multi-PCIe-endpoint device” that is configured to allow for thesplitting of the resources of that NIC between multiple processingsubsystems. For example, and as discussed below, each of the NICs 317 aand 318 a may be configured to split its respective ×16 connection tothe riser device 316 into two ×8 connections to a pair of processingsubsystems, or four ×4 connections to each of four processingsubsystems. However, while a specific example is described, one of skillin the art in possession of the present disclosure will recognize thatother endpoint subsystems having other configurable connectioncapabilities will fall within the scope of the present disclosure aswell. However, while two multi-endpoint adapter devices 317 and 318 areillustrated, one of skill in the art in possession of the presentdisclosure will recognize that a single multi-endpoint adapter devicewith multiple endpoint subsystems (e.g., multiple NICs or PCIeendpoints) may be coupled to the control/bridge subsystem 314 whileremaining within the scope of the present disclosure as well.

In the illustrated embodiment, a Baseboard Management Controller (BMC)device 320 is included in the chassis 302 and coupled to each of thecontrol/bridge subsystem 314 as well as the NICs 317 a and 318 a (e.g.,via the physical PCIe endpoints that provide them). For example, the BMCdevice 320 may be provided by an integrated DELL® Remote AccessController (iDRAC) available from DELL® Inc. of Round Rock, Tex., UnitedStates, although other remote access controller devices and/or BMCs willfall within the scope of the present disclosure as well. While aspecific server device 300 has been illustrated, one of skill in the artin possession of the present disclosure will recognize that serverdevices (or other devices operating according to the teachings of thepresent disclosure in a manner similar to that described below for theserver device 300) may include a variety of components and/or componentconfigurations for providing conventional server device functionality,as well as the functionality discussed below, while remaining within thescope of the present disclosure as well.

Referring now to FIG. 4, an embodiment of a method for deploying virtualmachines is illustrated. As discussed below, the systems and methods ofthe present disclosure provide for the deployment of a first virtualmachine on a first processing subsystem that has been allocated a firstsubset of available communication resources with a first endpointsubsystem that satisfy at least one first communication resourcerequirement of that first virtual machine, thus ensuring that theprovisioning of that first virtual machine by that first processingsubsystem will satisfy first virtual machine performance requirementsfor that first virtual machine. In different examples, the deployment ofthe first virtual machine on the first processing subsystem may includethe configuration (or reconfiguration) of one or more communicationcouplings that couple the first processing subsystem to the firstendpoint subsystem to ensure that the first processing subsystem isallocated the first subset of available communication resources with thefirst endpoint subsystem that satisfy the at least one firstcommunication resource requirement of the first virtual machine, whichmay also include reallocating at least some communication resources thatare provided to a second processing subsystem and, in some cases, movinga second virtual machine that is provided by that second processingsubsystem to a different processing subsystem. As such, a more efficientdeployment of virtual machines is provided that ensures that virtualmachine(s) that are deployed will be able to satisfy their virtualmachine performance requirement(s), while also providing for theefficient utilization of available communication resources bycurrently-deployed virtual machines.

The method 400 begins at block 402 where communication couplings areconfigured to couple processing subsystems to endpoint subsystems onmulti-endpoint adapter device(s) in order to provide subsets ofavailable communication resources to the processing subsystems. In anembodiment, at block 402, one or more communication couplings betweenthe processing subsystems 306 a, 308 a, 310 a, and 312 a, thecontrol/bridge subsystem 314, the riser device 316, and the NICs 318 aand 318 b may be configured. One of skill in the art in possession ofthe present disclosure will recognize that the configuration at block402 may be provided as a default configuration in the server device 300prior to the performance of the remainder of the method 400, and thatother communication coupling configurations may be provided whileremaining within the scope of the present disclosure as well. Withreference to FIGS. 5A and 5B, a first embodiment of a communicationcoupling configuration is illustrated for the purposes of the examplesprovided below.

As illustrated in FIG. 5A, a first subset of communication resources maybe provided between the processing subsystem 306 a and the NIC 317 a byconfiguring a communication coupling 500 a between the processingsubsystem 306 a and the control/bridge subsystem 314, a communicationcoupling 500 b between the control/bridge subsystem 314 and two of the×4 connectors on the riser device 316 (e.g., “1” and “2” to provide a ×8connection), a communication coupling 500 c between the control/bridgesubsystem 314 and two of the ×4 connectors on the riser device 316(e.g., “3” and “4” to provide a ×8 connection), a communication coupling500 d between the two of the ×4 connectors on the riser device 316(e.g., “1” and “2”) and the NIC 317 a (e.g.; via the physical PCIeendpoint device that provides that NIC 317 a), and a communicationcoupling 500 e between the two of the ×4 connectors on the riser device316 (e.g., “3” and “4”) and the NIC 317 a (e.g., via the physical PCIeendpoint device that provides that NIC 317 a). In a specific example,the control/bridge subsystem 314 may be configured to map the NIC 317 ato the processing subsystem 306 a in order to provide the communicationcouplings 500 a-500 e described above, which operates to provide theprocessing subsystem 306 a communicatively coupled to the NIC 317 a viaa ×16 connection (e.g., via the four ×4 connectors “1” “2”, “3”, and “4”on the riser device 316.)

Furthermore, as illustrated in FIG. 5B, a second subset of communicationresources may be provided between the processing subsystem 308 a and theNIC 318 a by configuring a communication coupling 502 a between theprocessing subsystem 308 a and the control/bridge subsystem 314, acommunication coupling 502 b between the control/bridge subsystem 314and two of the ×4 connectors on the riser device 316 (e.g., “5” and “6”to provide a ×8 connection), a communication coupling 502 c between thecontrol/bridge subsystem 314 and two of the ×4 connectors on the riserdevice 316 (e.g., “7” and “8” to provide a ×8 connection); acommunication coupling 502 d between the two of the ×4 connectors on theriser device 316 (e.g., “5” and “6”) and the NIC 318 a (e.g., via thephysical PCIe endpoint device that provides that NIC 318 a), and acommunication coupling 502 e between the two of the ×4 connectors on theriser device 316 (e.g., “7” and “8”) and the NIC 318 a (e.g., via thephysical PCIe endpoint device that provides that NIC 318 a). Similarlyas discussed above, the control/bridge subsystem 314 may be configuredto map the NIC 318 a to the processing subsystem 308 a in order toprovide the communication couplings 502 a-502 e described above, whichoperates to provide the processing subsystem 308 a communicativelycoupled to the NIC 318 a via a ×16 connection (e.g., via the four ×4connectors “5”, “6”, “7”, and “8” on the riser device 316.)

As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art in possession of thepresent disclosure, the communication coupling configuration that isillustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B and that provides the first subset ofcommunication resources between the processing subsystem 306 a and theNIC 317 a, as well as the second subset of communication resourcesbetween the processing subsystem 308 a and the NIC 318 a, allocateslimited communication resources to the processing subsystem 310 a andthe processing subsystem 312 a. For example, a third subset ofcommunication resources provided to the processing subsystem 310 a inFIG. 5B requires that processing subsystem 310 a to utilize the UPI 313b (and/or other processing subsystem interconnect(s)) to access theprocessing subsystem(s) 306 a and/or 308 b in order to communicate withand/or via the NICs 317 a and/or 318 a. Similarly, a fourth subset ofcommunication resources provided to the processing subsystem 312 a inFIG. 5B requires that processing subsystem 312 a to utilize the UPI 313c (and/or other processing subsystem interconnect(s)) to access theprocessing subsystem(s) 306 a and/or 308 b in order to communicate withand/or via the NICs 317 a and/or 318 a, As such, the defaultcommunication coupling configuration illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B mayprovide the processing subsystem 306 a communicatively coupled to theNIC 317 a via a ×16 connection, the processing subsystem 308 acommunicatively coupled to the NIC 318 a via a ×16 connection, and theprocessing subsystems 310 a and 312 a limited to communicating with theNICs 317 a and 318 a via their UPIs and through the processingsubsystems 306 a and 308 a, respectively. However, while a specificcommunication coupling configuration is illustrated as being provided,one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure willrecognize that a variety of other communication coupling configurationsmay be provided that will fall within the scope of the presentdisclosure as well.

For example, another embodiment of a communication couplingconfiguration is illustrated in FIGS. 6A, 6B, 60, and 6D and providedfor the purposes of the examples below. As illustrated in FIG. 6A, afirst subset of communication resources may be provided between theprocessing subsystem 306 a and the NIC 317 a by configuring acommunication coupling 600 a between the processing subsystem 306 a andthe control/bridge subsystem 314, a communication coupling 600 b betweenthe control/bridge subsystem 314 and two of the ×4 connectors on theriser device 316 (e.g., “1” and “2” to provide a ×8 connection), and acommunication coupling 600 c between the two of the ×4 connectors on theriser device 316 (e.g., “1” and “2”) and the NIC 317 a (e.g., via thephysical PCIe endpoint device that provides that NIC 317 a). In aspecific example, the control/bridge subsystem 314 may be configured tomap the NIC 317 a to the processing subsystem 306 a in order to providethe communication couplings 600 a-c described above, which operates toprovide the processing subsystem 306 a communicatively coupled to theNIC 317 a via a ×8 connection (e.g., via the two ×4 connectors “1” and“2” on the riser device 316.)

Furthermore, as illustrated in FIG. 6B, a second subset of communicationresources may be provided between the processing subsystem 310 a and theNIC 317 a by configuring a communication coupling 602 a between theprocessing subsystem 310 a and the control/bridge subsystem 314, acommunication coupling 602 b between the control/bridge subsystem 314and two of the ×4 connectors on the riser device 316 (e.g., “3” and “4”to provide a ×8 connection), and a communication coupling 602 c betweenthe two of the ×4 connectors on the riser device 316 (e.g., “3” and “4”)and the NIC 317 a (e.g., via the physical PCIe endpoint device thatprovides that NIC 317 a). Similarly as discussed above, thecontrol/bridge subsystem 314 may be configured to map the NIC 317 a tothe processing subsystem 310 a in order to provide the communicationcouplings 602 a-c described above, which operates to provide theprocessing subsystem 310 a communicatively coupled to the NIC 317 a viaa ×8 connection (e.g., via the two ×4 connectors “3” and “4” on theriser device 316.)

Further still, as illustrated in FIG. 60, a third subset ofcommunication resources may be provided between the processing subsystem308 a and the NIC 318 a by configuring a communication coupling 604 abetween the processing subsystem 308 a and the control/bridge subsystem314, a communication coupling 604 b between the control/bridge subsystem314 and two of the ×4 connectors on the riser device 316 (e.g., “5” and“6” to provide a ×8 connection), and a communication coupling 604 cbetween the two of the ×4 connectors on the riser device 316 (e.g., “5”and “6”) and the NIC 318 a (e.g., via the physical PCIe endpoint devicethat provides that NIC 318 a), Similarly as discussed above, thecontrol/bridge subsystem 314 may be configured to map the NIC 318 a tothe processing subsystem 308 a in order to provide the communicationcouplings 604 a-c described above, which operates to provide theprocessing subsystem 308 a communicatively coupled to the NIC 318 a viaa ×8 connection (e.g., via the two ×4 connectors “5” and “6” on theriser device 316.)

Further still, as illustrated in FIG. 6D, a fourth subset ofcommunication resources may be provided between the processing subsystem312 a and the NIC 318 a by configuring a communication coupling 606 abetween the processing subsystem 312 a and the control/bridge subsystem314, a communication coupling 606 b between the control/bridge subsystem314 and two of the ×4 connectors on the riser device 316 (e.g., “7” and“8” to provide a ×8 connection), and a communication coupling 606 cbetween the two of the ×4 connectors on the riser device 316 (e.g., “7”and “8”) and the NIC 318 a (e.g., via the physical PCIe endpoint devicethat provides that NIC 318 a). Similarly as discussed above, thecontrol/bridge subsystem 314 may be configured to map the NIC 318 a tothe processing subsystem 312 a in order to provide the communicationcouplings 606 a-c described above, which operates to provide theprocessing subsystem 312 a communicatively coupled to the NIC 318 a viaa ×8 connection (e.g., via the two ×4 connectors “7” and “8” on theriser device 316.)

As such, in another embodiment, a default communication couplingconfiguration may provide the processing subsystem 306 a communicativelycoupled to the NIC 317 a via a ×8 connection, the processing subsystem308 a communicatively coupled to the NIC 318 a via a ×8 connection, theprocessing subsystem 310 a communicatively coupled to the NIC 317 a viaa ×8 connection, and the processing subsystem 312 a communicativelycoupled to the NIC 318 a via a ×8 connection. However, while a specificcommunication coupling configuration is illustrated as being provided atblock 402, one of skill in the art in possession of the presentdisclosure will recognize that a variety of other communication couplingconfigurations may be provided that will fall within the scope of thepresent disclosure as well.

The method 400 then proceeds to block 404 where a virtual machinedeployment subsystem receives instructions to deploy a virtual machine.In an embodiment, at block 404, the virtual machine deployment enginemay receive instructions to deploy a virtual machine on the serverdevice 202 a/300 by, for example, substantiating a virtual machine onthe server device 202 a/300, migrating a previously deployed/existingvirtual machine to the server device 202 a/400 (e.g., from one of thevirtual machines 202 b or 202 c), and/or otherwise providing for theprovisioning of a virtual machine via the server device 202 a/300. Forexample, a user of the management system 206 may generate theinstructions to deploy the virtual machine, and may transmit thoseinstructions through the network 204 to the service device 202 a suchthat they are received by the virtual machine deployment engine providedin that server device 202 a. In another example, the virtual machinedeployment engine provided in the management system 206 may receive theinstructions to deploy the virtual machine on the server device 202 a(e.g., via an input device included on, or connected to, the managementsystem 206) and, in response, may operate to perform the functionalitydiscussed below. While a few examples have been provided, one of skillin the art in possession of the present disclosure will recognize thatinstructions to deploy a virtual machine may be generated and/orreceived in a variety of manners that will fall within the scope of thepresent disclosure as well.

The method 400 then proceeds to block 406 where the virtual machinedeployment subsystem determines communication resource requirement(s)for the virtual machine. In an embodiment, at block 406, the virtualmachine deployment engine may operate to determine one or morecommunication resource requirements for the virtual machine for whichthe deployment instructions were received at block 404. For example, thecommunication resource requirement(s) for a virtual machine provided fordeployment on the server device 202 a/300 may be included in theinstructions to deploy that virtual machine and, as such, at block 406the virtual machine deployment engine may operate to review theinstructions to deploy the virtual machine that were received at block404 and, in response, identify the communication resource requirementsfor that virtual machine. However, while a specific example ofdetermining the communication resource requirements for a virtualmachine have been described, one of skill in the art in possession ofthe present disclosure will recognize that the communication resourcerequirements for a virtual machine may be retrieved from a database(e.g., included in the management system 206, coupled to the network204, etc.) describing communication requirements for an application typethat will be run on the virtual machine being deployed, determined viainstructions provided by a user deploying the virtual machine,identified via telemetry gathered by a virtualization orchestrator(e.g., from previous deployments of that virtual machine or similarvirtual machines), and/or may be determined in a variety of manners thatwill fall within the scope of the present disclosure as well.

As such, continuing with the examples provided above with reference toFIGS. 5A and 58, at block 406 the virtual machine deployment engine mayoperate to review the instructions to deploy the virtual machine on theserver device 300 and determine that the virtual machine provided fordeployment on the servicer device 300 of FIGS. 5A and 5B includes acommunication resource requirement that requires a ×16 connection to aNIC. For example, the virtual machine provided for deployment on theservicer device 300 of FIGS. 5A and 5B may be associated with an SLAthat requires relatively extensive network bandwidth that can besatisfied by a ×16 connection to a NIC. Similarly, continuing with theexamples provided above with reference to FIGS. 6A-6D, at block 406 thevirtual machine deployment engine may operate to review the instructionsto deploy the virtual machine on the server device 300 and determinethat the virtual machine provided for deployment on the server device300 of FIGS. 6A-6D includes a communication resource requirement thatrequires a ×16 connection to a NIC. For example, the virtual machineprovided for deployment on the servicer device 300 of FIGS. 6A-6D may beassociated with an SLA that requires relatively extensive networkbandwidth that can be satisfied by a ×16 connection to a NIC. However,while the same specific communication resource requirement (i.e., theneed for a ×16 connection to a NIC) has been provided for each of theexamples discussed below, one of skill in the art in possession of thepresent disclosure will recognize that a variety of communicationresource requirements, and/or other requirements for other types ofendpoint subsystem provided/associated resources, will fall within thescope of the present disclosure as well.

The method 400 then proceeds to block 408 where the virtual machinedeployment subsystem identifies a first processing subsystem that isprovided a first subset of the available communication resources thatsatisfy the communication resource requirement(s) for the virtualmachine, followed by block 410 where the virtual machine deploymentsubsystem deploys the virtual machine on the first processing subsystem.In an embodiment, at block 408, the virtual machine deployment engineoperates to identify a processing subsystem that is providedcommunication resources that are sufficient to satisfy the communicationresource requirements of the virtual machine for which the deploymentinstruction was received at block 404. As discussed in one of theexamples provided below, that identification may include identifying aprocessing subsystem that is already provided those sufficientcommunication resources. However, as discussed in others of the examplesprovided below, that identification may be preceded by the reconfiguringof communication coupling(s) between the processing subsystems and theendpoint subsystems, the reallocation of communication resources fromone or more processing subsystems to other processing subsystem(s), themovement of virtual machines from one processing subsystem to anotherprocessing subsystem, and/or other virtual machine deploymentfunctionality that will be apparent to one of skill in the art inpossession of the present disclosure.

Continuing with the example discussed above with reference to FIGS. 5Aand 5B, at block 408, the virtual machine deployment engine may operateto request, retrieve, and/or receive server device configurationinformation about the server device 300 from the BMC device 320. Aswould be understood by one of skill in the art in possession of thepresent disclosure, the BMC device 320 (e.g., a remote access controllersuch as the iDRAC discussed above) may include a variety of informationthat describes/details how the server device 300 is configured,including information about a communication coupling configuration thatdetails the communication coupling configuration provided between theprocessing subsystems 306 a, 308 a, 310 a, and 312 a and the NICs 317 aand 318 a, discussed above. As such, at block 408, the virtual machinedeployment engine may request, retrieve, and/or receive server deviceconfiguration information that include the communication couplingconfiguration discussed above with reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B thatdetails how the processing subsystem 306 a is communicatively coupled tothe NIC 317 a via a ×16 connection, the processing subsystem 308 a iscommunicatively coupled to the NIC 318 a via a ×16 connection, and theprocessing subsystems 310 a and 312 a are limited to communicating withthe NICs 317 and 318 a via their UPls 313 b and 313 c and via theprocessing subsystems 306 a and 308 a. However, while the retrievaland/or receiving of the communication coupling configuration from aBMC/remote access controller device has been described, one of skill inthe art in possession of the present disclosure will recognize thatcommunication coupling configurations for the server device 300 may beretrieved and/or received in a variety of manners and from a variety ofsubsystems while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure aswell.

At block 408, the virtual machine deployment engine may then compare thecommunication resource requirement(s) determined for the virtual machinefor which the deployment instruction was received at block 404 with thecommunication coupling configuration received/retrieved for the serverdevice 300 in order to identify a processing subsystem that is providedcommunication resources that satisfy the communication resourcerequirement(s) for that virtual machine. As such, at block 408, thevirtual machine deployment engine may compare the communication resourcerequirement for the virtual machine discussed above that requires a ×16connection to a NIC, with the communication coupling configuration thatdetails how the processing subsystem 306 a is communicatively coupled tothe NIC 317 a via a ×16 connection and the processing subsystem 308 a iscommunicatively coupled to the NIC 318 a via a ×16 connection (as wellas how the processing subsystems 310 a and 312 a must access those NICs317 a and 318 a via their UPIs 313 b and 313 c and the processingsubsystems 306 a and 308 a), and may then identify either of theprocessing subsystem 306 a or 308 a as being provided a subset of theavailable communication resources (e.g., because each includes a ×16connection to the NICs 317 a and 318 a, respectively) that satisfy thecommunication resource requirement(s) for the virtual machine (i.e., a×16 connection to a NIC). For the purposes of the example providedbelow, the virtual machine deployment engine identifies the processingsubsystem 306 a at block 408.

In an embodiment, at block 410, the virtual machine deployment enginethen deploys the virtual machine for which the deployment instructionwas received at block 404 on the processing subsystem identified atblock 408. At at block 410, the virtual machine deployment engine mayretrieve virtual machine code (for the virtual machine for which thedeployment instruction was received at block 404) from, for example, thedeployment instructions, a location identified in the deploymentinstructions, and/or in a variety of other manners that would beapparent to one of skill in the art in possession of the presentdisclosure. With reference to FIG. 5C, the virtual machine deploymentengine may then provide that virtual machine code on the memorysubsystem 306 b, which allows the processing subsystem 306 a to executethat virtual machine code in order to provide a virtual machine (VM) 504(which is the virtual machine for which the deployment instruction wasreceived at block 404.) As would be understood by one of skill in theart in possession of the present disclosure, following the deployment ofthe virtual machine 504, that virtual machine 504 may operate to performa variety of virtual machine operations in a manner that satisfies itsvirtual machine performance requirements including, for example,communicating via the NIC 317 a using the communication couplings 500a-500 e (e.g., via the ×16 connection provided on the riser device 316for the processing subsystem 306 a).

Continuing with the example discussed above with reference to FIGS.6A-6D, and with reference to FIG. 6E, a plurality of virtual machines(VMs) 608, 610, and 612 have been provided on the server device 300. Forexample, following the configuration of the communication couplings atblock 402 and prior to receiving the deployment instruction for thevirtual machine at block 404, the virtual machine deployment engine mayhave operated to retrieve virtual machine code and provide that virtualmachine code on the memory subsystem 306 b for execution by theprocessing subsystem 306 a to provide a virtual machine 608, retrievevirtual machine code and provide that virtual machine code on the memorysubsystem 308 b for execution by the processing subsystem 308 a toprovide a virtual machine 610, and retrieve virtual machine code andprovide that virtual machine code on the memory subsystem 310 b forexecution by the processing subsystem 310 a to provide a virtual machine612. However, while a specific example of previously deployed virtualmachines 608, 610, and 612 is illustrated, one of skill in the art inpossession of the present disclosure will recognize that virtualmachines may be provided on the server device 300 in a variety ofmanners that will fall within the scope of the present disclosure aswell.

At block 408 and similarly as discussed above, the virtual machinedeployment engine may request, retrieve, and/or receive server deviceconfiguration information that include the communication couplingconfiguration discussed above with reference to FIGS. 6A-6D that detailshow the processing subsystem 306 a is communicatively coupled to the NIC317 a via a ×8 connection, the processing subsystem 308 a iscommunicatively coupled to the NIC 318 a via a ×8 connection, theprocessing subsystem 310 a is communicatively coupled to the NIC 317 avia a ×8 connection, and the processing subsystem 312 a iscommunicatively coupled to the NIC 318 a via a ×8 connection.Furthermore, the server device configuration information and/or thecommunication coupling configuration may detail how the virtual machines608, 610, and 612 are currently being provided by the processingsubsystems 306 a, 308 a, and 310 a, respectively. However, while theretrieval and/or receiving of the communication coupling configurationfrom a BMC/remote access controller device has been described, one ofskill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will recognizethat communication coupling configurations for the server device 300 maybe retrieved and/or received in a variety of manners and from a varietyof subsystems while remaining within the scope of the present disclosureas well.

At block 408, the virtual machine deployment engine may then compare thecommunication resource requirement(s) determined for the virtual machinefor which the deployment instruction was received at block 404 with thecommunication coupling configuration received/retrieved for the serverdevice 300 in order to identify a processing subsystem that is providedcommunication resources that satisfy the communication resourcerequirement(s) for that virtual machine. As such, at block 408, thevirtual machine deployment engine may compare the communication resourcerequirement for the virtual machine discussed above that requires a ×16connection to a NIC, with the communication coupling configuration thatdetails how the processing subsystem 306 a is currently providing thevirtual machine 608 and is communicatively coupled to the NIC 317 a viaa ×8 connection, how the processing subsystem 308 a is currentlyproviding the virtual machine 610 and is communicatively coupled to theNIC 318 a via a ×8 connection, how the processing subsystem 310 a iscurrently providing the virtual machine 612 and is communicativelycoupled to the NIC 317 a via a ×8 connection, and how the processingsubsystem 312 a is not currently providing a virtual machine and iscommunicatively coupled to the NIC 318 a via a ×8 connection, and maythen determine that none of the processing subsystems 306 a, 308 a, 310a, and 312 a is currently being provided communication resources thatsatisfy the communication resource requirement(s) for the virtualmachine (i.e., each is provided a ×8 connection to the NICs 317 a and318 a that will not satisfy the requirement for a ×16 connection to aNIC).

As such, in this embodiment, the virtual machine deployment engine maydetermine that at least some of the plurality of communication couplingsshould be reconfigured in order to provide a processing subsystem withcommunication resources that will satisfy the communication resourcerequirements of the virtual machine for which the deployment instructionwas received at block 404. In an embodiment of block 408, the virtualmachine deployment engine may determine that one or more of theprocessing subsystems does not require the communication resources (orat least some of the communication resources) that it is currently beingprovided. For example, with reference to FIG. 6E, the virtual machinedeployment engine may determine that the virtual machine 610 does notrequire the ×8 connection provided by the communication couplings 604 a,604 b, and 604 c (and the two ×4 connectors “5” and “6” on the riserdevice 316) to the NIC 318 b. Similarly as discussed above, thedetermination of the communication resource requirements for the virtualmachine 610 in order to determine that the virtual machine 610 does notrequire the ×8 connection discussed above may be retrieved from adeployment instruction that was received for the virtual machine 610.However, in other examples, the virtual machine deployment engine mayreview the operation of the virtual machine 610 after it was deployed onthe processing subsystem 308 a and determine that that operation doesnot require the ×8 connection discussed above. While a few specificexamples have been provided, one of skill in the art in possession ofthe present disclosure will recognize that virtual machine communicationresource requirements may be determined in a variety of manners thatwill fall within the scope of the present disclosure as well.

With reference to FIG. 6F, the virtual machine deployment engine maythen reconfigure the plurality of communication couplings in order toconfigure a communication coupling 614 a between the processingsubsystem 312 a and the control/bridge subsystem 314, a communicationcoupling 614 b between the control/bridge subsystem 314 and two of the×4 connectors on the riser device 316 (e.g., “5” and “6” to provide a ×8connection), a communication coupling 614 c between the control/bridgesubsystem 314 and two of the ×4 connectors on the riser device 316(e.g., “7” and “8” to provide a ×8 connection), a communication coupling614 d between the two of the ×4 connectors on the riser device 316(e.g., “5” and “6”) and the NIC 318 a (e.g., via the physical PCIeendpoint device that provides that NIC 318 a), and a communicationcoupling 614 e between the two of the ×4 connectors on the riser device316 (e.g., “7” and “8”) and the NIC 318 a (e.g., via the physical PCIeendpoint device that provides that NIC 318 a). Similarly as discussedabove, the control/bridge subsystem 314 may be reconfigured to remap theNIC 318 a to the processing subsystem 312 a in order to provide thecommunication couplings 614 a-614 e described above, which operates toprovide the processing subsystem 312 a communicatively coupled to theNIC 318 a via a ×16 connection (e.g., via the four ×4 connectors “5”,“6”, “7”, and “8” on the riser device 316.) In some embodiments, thereconfiguration of the communication couplings by the virtual machinedeployment engine may include providing instruction(s) to the BMC device320 to perform some or all of the communication couplingreconfigurations, along with the BMC device 320 performing some or allof those reconfigurations. As such, the processing subsystem 312 a isprovided communication resources sufficient to satisfy the communicationresource requirements for the virtual machine for which the deploymentinstruction was received at block 404, and may be identified as such atblock 408.

Furthermore, one of skill in the art in possession of the presentdisclosure will recognize that the reconfiguration has removed thecommunication coupling 604 a between the processing subsystem 308 a andthe NIC 318 a and, as such, the processing subsystem 308 a is nowrequired to use the UPIs 313 a and/or 313 b in order to communicate viathose NICs 317 a and 318 a. While the embodiment of FIG. 6F illustratesthe communication couplings 604 b, 604 c, 606 a, 606 b, and 606 c havingbeen replaced with the communication couplings 614 a-614 e, one of skillin the art in possession of the present disclosure will recognize thatthe reconfiguration of communication couplings according to theteachings of the present disclosure may not necessarily removecommunication couplings and replace them with other communicationcouplings, but instead may redirect those communication couplings toprovide for the allocation of communication resources in the mannerdiscussed above (e.g., the “removal” of the communication coupling 604 amay simply configure other communication couplings such that thecommunication coupling 604 a is no longer configured to couple via adirect path through the riser device 316 to either of the NICs 317 a and318 a.)

In an embodiment, at block 410, the virtual machine deployment enginethen deploys the virtual machine for which the deployment instructionwas received at block 404 on the processing subsystem identified atblock 408. At block 410, the virtual machine deployment engine mayretrieve virtual machine code (for the virtual machine for which thedeployment instruction was received at block 404) from, for example, thedeployment instructions, a location identified in the deploymentinstructions, and/or from a variety of other locations that would beapparent to one of skill in the art in possession of the presentdisclosure. With reference to FIG. 6G, the virtual machine deploymentengine may then provide that virtual machine code on the memorysubsystem 312 b, which allows the processing subsystem 312 a to executethat virtual machine code in order to provide a virtual machine 614(which is the virtual machine for which the deployment instruction wasreceived at block 404.) As would be understood by one of skill in theart in possession of the present disclosure, following the deployment ofthe virtual machine 614, that virtual machine 614 may operate to performa variety of virtual machine operations in a manner that satisfies itsvirtual machine performance requirements including, for example,communicating via software defined NIC 318 a using the communicationcouplings 614 a-614 e (e.g., via the ×16 connection provided on theriser device 316 for the processing subsystem 312 a).

In some embodiments, at block 408 the virtual machine deployment enginemay operate to move virtual machines between processing subsystemsand/or server devices in order to, for example, ensure that the virtualmachine performance requirement(s) for virtual machine(s) are satisfied.For example, with reference to the example discussed above withreference to FIGS. 6F and 6G, FIG. 6H illustrates how the virtualmachine deployment engine may move the virtual machine 608 from theprocessing subsystem 306 a and out of the service device 202 a/300 to,for example, the server device 202 b (e.g., by copying the virtualmachine code for the virtual machine 608 from the memory subsystem 306 bto a memory subsystem included in the server device 202 b). Furthermore,FIG. 6H also illustrates how the virtual machine deployment engine maymove the virtual machine 610 from being provided by the processingsubsystem 308 a to being provided by the processing subsystem 306 a(e.g., by copying the virtual machine code for the virtual machine 610from the memory subsystem 308 b to the memory subsystem 306 b. As such,in the event the virtual machine performance requirements for thevirtual machine 610 require at least a ×8 connection to a NIC, thevirtual machine 608 (which may also include virtual machine performancerequirements satisfied by the components of the server device 202 b) maybe moved from the processing subsystem 306 a to a different serverdevice, which allows the virtual machine 610 to be moved to theprocessing subsystem 306 a so that the virtual machine 610 may utilizethe ×8 connection to the NIG 317 a provided by the communicationcouplings 600 a-c.

Thus, systems and methods have been described that provide for thedeployment of a first virtual machine on a first processing subsystemthat has been allocated a first subset of available communicationresources with a first endpoint subsystem that satisfy at least onefirst communication resource requirement of that first virtual machine,thus ensuring that the provisioning of that first virtual machine bythat first processing subsystem will satisfy first virtual machineperformance requirements for that first virtual machine. When necessary,the deployment of the first virtual machine on the first processingsubsystem may include the configuration of one or more communicationcouplings that couple the first processing subsystem to the firstendpoint subsystem to ensure that the first processing subsystem isallocated the first subset of available communication resources with thefirst endpoint subsystem that satisfy the at least one firstcommunication resource requirement of the first virtual machine, whichmay also include reallocating at least some communication resources thatare provided to a second processing subsystem and, in some cases, movinga second virtual machine that is provided by that second processingsubsystem to a different processing subsystem. As such, a more efficientdeployment of virtual machines is provided that ensures the virtualmachine(s) that are deployed will be able to satisfy virtual machineperformance requirement(s), while also ensuring currently-deployedvirtual machines utilize the available communication resourcesefficiently.

Furthermore, the present disclosure is being filed along with U.S.patent application Ser. No. 16/396,200, filed on Apr. 26, 2019, anddirected to data splitting techniques; U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/396,320, filed on Apr. 26, 2019, and directed to data duplicatingtechniques; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/396,453, filed on Apr.26, 2019, and directed to packet routing techniques; U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/395,468, filed on Apr. 26, 2019, and directed tocommunication coupling configuration techniques; U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/396,521, filed on Apr. 26, 2019, and directed to connectionconfiguration techniques; and U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/395,584, filed on Apr. 26, 2019, and directed to sidebandcommunication techniques; each of which include embodiments that utilizethe multi-processor/multi-endpoint systems described in some of theembodiments included in the present disclosure. One of skill in the artin possession of the present disclosure will recognize how embodimentsof the present disclosure may be combined with some or all of thedisclosures discussed above, and thus those disclosures are incorporatedby reference herein in their entirety.

Although illustrative embodiments have been shown and described, a widerange of modification, change and substitution is contemplated in theforegoing disclosure and in some instances, some features of theembodiments may be employed without a corresponding use of otherfeatures. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims beconstrued broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of theembodiments disclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A virtual machine deployment system, comprising:a chassis; a plurality of processing subsystems that are housed in thechassis; at least one multi-endpoint adapter device that is housed inthe chassis and that includes a plurality of endpoint subsystems; aplurality of configurable hardware communication couplings that arehoused in the chassis and that couple each of the plurality of endpointsubsystems to at least one of the plurality of processing subsystems inorder to provide a respective subset of available communicationresources to each of the plurality of processing subsystems; a virtualmachine deployment engine that is configured to: receive a firstinstruction to deploy a first virtual machine; determine at least onefirst communication resource requirement for the first virtual machine;identify a first processing subsystem that is included in the pluralityof processing subsystems and that is provided a first subset of theavailable communication resources that does not satisfy the at least onefirst communication resource requirement for the first virtual machine;identify at least one second processing subsystem that is included inthe plurality of processing subsystems and that is provided a secondsubset of the available communication resources that are not needed tosatisfy at least one second communication resource requirement for atleast one second virtual machine being provided by the at least onesecond processing subsystem; reconfigure the plurality of configurablehardware communication couplings in order to provide the firstprocessing subsystem with the second subset of the availablecommunication resources in order to satisfy the at least one firstcommunication resource requirement for the first virtual machine; anddeploy the first virtual machine on the first processing subsystem. 2.The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of endpoint subsystemsinclude a plurality of software defined Network Interface Controllers(NICs).
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the virtual machine deploymentengine is configured to: configure, prior to identifying the firstprocessing subsystem that is provided the first subset of the availablecommunication resources, the plurality of configurable hardwarecommunication couplings in order to provide the first processingsubsystem with the first subset of the available communicationresources.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the virtual machinedeployment engine is configured to: configure, prior to identifying theat least one second processing subsystem that is provided the secondsubset of the available communication resources, the plurality ofconfigurable hardware communication couplings in order to provide the atleast one second processing subsystem with the second subset of theavailable communication resources.
 5. The system of claim 1, furthercomprising: a Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) device that isconfigured to: report, to the virtual machine deployment engine, acommunication coupling configuration for the plurality of communicationcouplings that is used by the virtual machine deployment engine toidentify the first processing subsystem that is provided the firstsubset of the available communication resources.
 6. An InformationHandling System (IHS), comprising: a virtual machine deploymentprocessing system that includes at least one hardware processor; and avirtual machine deployment memory system that includes a non-transitorymemory that is coupled to the virtual machine deployment processingsystem and that includes instructions that, when executed by the atleast one hardware processor included in the virtual machine deploymentprocessing system, cause the virtual machine deployment processingsystem to provide a virtual machine deployment engine that is configuredto: receive a first instruction to deploy a first virtual machine on oneof a plurality of processing subsystems that are housed in a chassis andthat are coupled to a multi-endpoint adapter device that is housed inthe chassis via a plurality of configurable hardware communicationscouplings that are housed in the chassis; determine at least one firstcommunication resource requirement for the first virtual machine;identify a first processing subsystem that is included in the pluralityof processing subsystems and that is provided, via the plurality ofconfigurable hardware communication couplings that couple the firstprocessing subsystem to a first endpoint subsystem provided on themulti-endpoint adapter device, a first subset of available communicationresources do not satisfy the at least one first communication resourcerequirement for the first virtual machine; identify at least one secondprocessing subsystem that is included in the plurality of processingsubsystems and that is provided, via the plurality of configurablehardware communication couplings that couple the at least one secondprocessing subsystem to the first endpoint subsystem provided on themulti-endpoint adapter device, a second subset of availablecommunication resources that are not needed to satisfy at least onesecond communication resource requirement for at least one secondvirtual machine being provided by the at least one second processingsubsystem; reconfigure the plurality of configurable hardwarecommunication couplings in order to provide the first processingsubsystem with the second subset of the available communicationresources in order to satisfy the at least one first communicationresource requirement for the first virtual machine; and deploy the firstvirtual machine on the first processing subsystem.
 7. The IHS of claim6, wherein the first endpoint subsystem includes a software definedNetwork Interface Controller (NIC).
 8. The IHS of claim 6, wherein thevirtual machine deployment engine is configured to: configure, prior toidentifying the first processing subsystem that is provided the firstsubset of the available communication resources, the plurality ofconfigurable hardware communication couplings in order to provide thefirst processing subsystem with the first subset of the availablecommunication resources.
 9. The IHS of claim 6, wherein the virtualmachine deployment engine is configured to: configure, prior toidentifying the at least one second processing subsystem that isprovided the second subset of the available communication resources, theplurality of configurable hardware communication couplings in order toprovide the at least one second processing subsystem with the secondsubset of the available communication resources.
 10. The IHS of claim 6,wherein the virtual machine deployment engine is configured to: monitorthe operation of the at least one second processing subsystem inproviding the at least one second virtual machine; and determine, inresponse to the monitoring, that the second subset of availablecommunication resources that are being provided to the at least onesecond processing subsystem are not needed to satisfy the at least onesecond communication resource requirement for at least one secondvirtual machine being provided by the at least one second processingsubsystem.
 11. The IHS of claim 6, wherein the virtual machinedeployment engine is configured to: receive, from a Baseboard ManagementController (BMC) device, a communication coupling configuration for theplurality of communication couplings, wherein the virtual machinedeployment engine utilizes the communication coupling configuration toidentify the first processing subsystem that is provided the firstsubset of the available communication resources.
 12. A method fordeploying virtual machines, comprising: receiving, by a virtual machinedeployment subsystem, a first instruction to deploy a first virtualmachine on one of a plurality of processing subsystems that are housedin a chassis and that are coupled to a multi-endpoint adapter devicethat is housed in the chassis via a plurality of configurable hardwarecommunications couplings that are housed in the chassis; determining, bythe virtual machine deployment subsystem, at least one firstcommunication resource requirement for the first virtual machine;identifying, by the virtual machine deployment subsystem, a firstprocessing subsystem that is included in the plurality of processingsubsystems and that is provided, via the plurality of configurablehardware communication couplings that couple the first processingsubsystem to a first endpoint subsystem provided on the multi-endpointadapter device, a first subset of available communication resources thatdo not satisfy the at least one first communication resource requirementfor the first virtual machine; identifying, by the virtual machinedeployment subsystem, at least one second processing subsystem that isincluded in the plurality of processing subsystems and that is provided,via the plurality of configurable hardware communication couplings thatcouple the at least one second processing subsystem to the firstendpoint subsystem provided on the multi-endpoint adapter device, asecond subset of available communication resources that are not neededto satisfy at least one second communication resource requirement for atleast one second virtual machine being provided by the at least onesecond processing subsystem; reconfiguring, by the virtual machinedeployment subsystem, the plurality of configurable hardwarecommunication couplings in order to provide the first processingsubsystem with the second subset of the available communicationresources in order to satisfy the at least one first communicationresource requirement for the first virtual machine; and deploying, bythe virtual machine deployment subsystem, the first virtual machine onthe first processing subsystem.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein thefirst endpoint subsystem includes a software defined Network InterfaceController (NIC).
 14. The method of claim 12, further comprising:configuring, by the virtual machine deployment subsystem prior toidentifying the first processing subsystem that is provided the firstsubset of the available communication resources, the plurality ofconfigurable hardware communication couplings in order to provide thefirst processing subsystem with the first subset of the availablecommunication resources.
 15. The method of claim 12, comprising:configuring, by the virtual machine deployment subsystem prior toidentifying the at least one second processing subsystem that isprovided the second subset of the available communication resources, theplurality of configurable hardware communication couplings in order toprovide the at least one second processing subsystem with the secondsubset of the available communication resources.
 16. The method of claim12, further comprising: monitoring, by the virtual machine deploymentsubsystem, the operation of the at least one second processing subsystemin providing the at least one second virtual machine; and determining,by the virtual machine deployment subsystem in response to themonitoring, that the second subset of available communication resourcesthat are being provided to the at least one second processing subsystemare not needed to satisfy the at least one second communication resourcerequirement for at least one second virtual machine being provided bythe at least one second processing subsystem.
 17. The method of claim12, further comprising: receiving, by the virtual machine deploymentsubsystem from a Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) device, acommunication coupling configuration for the plurality of communicationcouplings, wherein the virtual machine deployment engine utilizes thecommunication coupling configuration to identify the first processingsubsystem that is provided the first subset of the availablecommunication resources.